Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Cultural Acceptance

This series of messages focus on those who opened up society through their personal talent or their ability to encourage talent in others.

    • Oscar Charleston

      When Willie Mays died in June 2024, there was a renewal of the debate over who was the greatest baseball player of all time. Was it Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Honus Wagner, or others? There is one name rarely mentioned: Oscar Charleston. Honus Wagner, of those...

      Read More

    • Berry Gordy

      Berry Gordy was born in 1929 in Michigan. He and President Jimmy Carter share a great-grandfather. He dropped out of high school to become a professional boxer. His boxing career ended when he was drafted to serve in the Korean War. When he returned from the war, he...

      Read More

    • Graham Jackson Sr. – The Essence of America

      Graham Jackson, Sr. was born in 1903. He was the grandson of enslaved persons. When his mother attempted suicide, she was committed to a mental institution. His father disappeared from his life and Graham was raised by an Aunt. Growing up, it became obvious that...

      Read More

    • Alice Marble: Athlete, Spy, Civil Rights Advocate

      She won 5 Grand Slam Tennis tournaments. She helped the Allies infiltrate the Nazi finances. And she helped desegregate tennis so that people of color could compete on a world stage. With all of these accomplishments, you would think we would know her name. But Alice...

      Read More

    • The All-American Red Heads

      It was the roaring 20s in America. Traveling entertainment was popular in the days before technology made available the variety of entertainment we have today. While larger metropolitan areas had entertainment clubs, rural America relied upon vagabond entertainers who...

      Read More

    • Unrecognized Artistry

      Camille Claudel was born in France. Her early education was a traditional Catholic education. As she grew older, she became interested in an artistic future. She began to sculpt the human form in clay. Her mother was aghast. Her father was more supportive. Her father...

      Read More

    • Father of Gospel Blues

      Thomas Dorsey was born in Georgia in 1899. His father was a minister and a sharecrop farmer as well as a one-room schoolteacher. Thomas grew up with religion and music being strong influences. Both his mother (organ) and uncle (guitar) introduced him to a variety of...

      Read More

    • Photographic Awareness

      Dorothea (Nutzhorn) Lange was born in 1895 in New Jersey. When she was seven, she was a polio victim giving her a limp for the rest of her life. When she was 12, her father abandoned the family. When her mother worked, she would wander the streets and observe people....

      Read More

    • The Roosevelt Dime

      Selma Burke was born in Mooresville, NC in 1900. Her father was both a minister and a railroad brakeman. Her mother wanted her 10 children to be professionally trained, and that led Selma to getting a nursing degree. Her mother actually began her college career when...

      Read More

    • Illustrations that Connect

      Albert Staehle was born in Germany and came to America when he was 14 years old. He was destined to have a career in art, as both his father and grandfather were artists. His father painted for Currier and Ives and was studying art in Germany when Albert When Albert...

      Read More